Venezuela’s Guaidó regains control of the National Assembly as rival flees
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó overcame National Guard roadblocks and entered the building of the National Assembly on Tuesday to reestablish his role as head of the Venezuelan Congress, while deputies of the Nicolás Maduro government and the man that attempted to replace Guaidó quickly fled.
A follow-up session presided by Guaidó, which was held briefly before the electricity was cut off, cast doubt over the attempts of former opposition leader Luis Parra to replace Guaidó with the help of the regime, following Sunday’s military blockade of the National Assembly building.
Guaidó, who is recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state by a coalition of more than 50 countries led by the U.S., was reelected as the president of the National Assembly by 100 of the chamber’s 167 deputies in a session that had to be held Sunday outside the legislative palace because government forces prevented Guaidó from entering.
On Tuesday, Guaidó and the bulk of the Venezuelan deputies managed to enter the building going through roadblocks set up by Maduro’s paramilitary groups and after struggling with National Guard soldiers.
When Guaidó entered with his deputies, singing the national anthem and shouting that the people’s will must be respected, Parra and the regime’s deputies who were there to participate in a session presided by Parra quickly left the chamber.
Maduro, who still holds de facto control over Venezuela despite mounting international sanctions, attempted to retake control of the National Assembly through a maneuver that began weeks ago with the alleged bribery of several opposition deputies and that culminated with Sunday’s military blockade of the legislative building, barring Guaidó from entering so that Parra could be named the new head of congress.
The attempt appears to have been botched, as images of Guaidó climbing a fence Sunday, only to be pushed back by National Guard soldiers, circulated around the world, earning Maduro even more international condemnation and strengthening the young leader within the opposition.
The movement to place Parra as the head of the National Assembly came as a surprise, given that the obscure legislator only became well known after he was identified as being part of a corruption scandal that led to him being expelled in December from opposition party Primero Justicia (Justice First).
Parra, who still claims to oppose the regime, was accused of accepting bribes to lobby as an opposition member in favor of Colombian businessman, Alex Saab, sanctioned by Washington under charges that he runs a massive corruption network for Maduro.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 12:00 PM.
